It's a Very Merry Scary Christmas
by newbienovelistRD
Summary: Ashley is excited to spend her first Christmas at Hillhurst! But the monsters aren't all that thrilled, especially Mums. It'll take a Christmas miracle or two if Ashley wants her friends to see the holiday light.
1. Chapter 1: The Holidays at Hillhurst

December 23th, two days until Christmas, the best time of the year. It was a calm, cool day in Charterville. Almost every place in town was adorned with twinkling, colorful lights and inflatable Christmas characters. And by almost, that means not every place in town was the same.

That certain place was none other than the Hillhurst Mansion. Living up to it's infamous reputation, there wasn't a single decoration on the rundown house. Not even a wreath. There wasn't a single bit of holiday cheer to be seen.

On the inside, however, things were quite different. A huge evergreen tree wrapped in shiny tinsel and cords of lights with colorful glass bulbs dangling from its branches stood in the parlor. Sparkling red and green garland with little gold and silver Christmas shapes were hung around the stair rails. Hillhurst itself looked like it was filling with the Christmas spirit.

But on the other hand, a group of monsters stood in front of the magnificent tree with horrified faces. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." Mums grumbled. "I can't go on like this much longer."

Wolfie clutched his head as he tried to fight back a howl of desperation.

Count Fangula swallowed hard. "J-Just relax fellas, we only have two more days of this and it'll be all over."

The monsters were extremely uncomfortable with all this cheer and goodwill on this human holiday. Again. They had no problem with it the last time they celebrated it though, only because Flabber cast a spell on them that time.

"But remember, this is how humans celebrate this holiday." Fangula reminded his friends. "Even with all their cheer and crosses..." he groused with a shiver. He took a deep breath. "this is our first Christmas with Ashley and we have to make the best of it. For her!"

With that in mind, the monsters slumped in defeat. Ashley's been more excited about Christmas than anyone else. Every morning she would belt out Christmas carols in the shower, go into town to look at the decorations and donate to Santas collecting money outside of the stores.

"Speaking of whom, where is she?" Mums wondered out loud. "And Little Ghoul too?"

"Right here!" a voice sang.

Ashley and Little Ghoul practically skipped happily into the parlor together. All of the monsters' jaws dropped. Little Ghoul was actually skipping and giggling like a giddy school girl. The only time she gets this excited is when she caused some first class mischief. Like filling Mums' sarcophagus with cobras or putting itching powder in Wolfie's pants.

"Alright, what are you up to now?!" Mums interrogated the hooded ghoul.

"Stuff it, Bandage butt!" Little Ghoul snapped. "If you must know, Ashley and I were watching a Christmas movie!"

"Yeah, The Nightmare Before Christmas." Ashley said. "When Little Ghoul told me she never heard of it, I almost had a cow! So I had to show her what she was missing!"

Little Ghoul sighed lovingly, "It was the best! And that Jack Skellington is so dreamy..."

Fangula rolled his eyes. "Oh great, she's got another crush on a made up character..."

Ashley chuckled. "Aw, come on Fang, Jack is pretty cool." she admitted.

"And he has the most beautiful voice and the most horrifying face." Little Ghoul swooned. "He's a ghoul's fondest dream..."

"Okay, NOW I'm gonna be sick..." Mums said.

"Anyway you guys, I have big news!" Ashley chirped in excitement. "We're having over my mom over for a Christmas party tomorrow! Won't that be fun?"

The monsters just stared.

"You've got a real sick sense of humor Ash, you know that don't you?" Mums said.

Ashley put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Come on guys, I know Christmas isn't really your thing, but that's because you see it differently. Christmas isn't all glitz and glamor with the presents and sparkly lights, its a time when friends express love and happiness with the people they care about and celebrate peace on Earth. And the first thing we're gonna do is go door to door singing carols to the neighbors!"

Then Ashley just remembered something. "Oh my gosh! I forgot to get Mom a gift!" Ashley pointed to herself and changed into a long green coat trimmed with black fur. "I better get going to the mall! You guys want to come?"

"No thanks." Mums said turning the other way. The other monsters followed him, except Fangula.

"I'll go with you Ashley." he said. "It, might be fun..."

"Me too! I wanna see a human mall!" Little Ghoul spoke up.

"Alright, I'll whip up some disguises." Ashley cracked her knuckles, aimed all fingers at the two monsters, and fired green sparkles at them. Fangula now wore black boots, black jeans, and a black and red coat while Little Ghoul's robe was green and her scaly hands were covered with red and white striped mittens. Her red eyes were hidden behind thick black sunglasses.

"I look like an elf on Spring break." Little Ghoul mumbled.

Ashley shrugged. "Hey, it was all I can do. I don't know what your face looks like so it was the best I can think of. So if anyone asks, you're my cousin."

"Your cousin?!" Little Ghoul shouted.

"Just roll with it okay? Now let's hurry before the mall gets too packed!" Ashley, Fangula and Little Ghoul rushed outside in a flash.

Mums shook his head. "I don't believe this. Those two are _actually _going along with this whole Christmas thing?!"

"Arf!" Wolfie barked with a sneer.

"Bah Humbug!" Frankenbeans snorted.

"Bad word choice..." a grim voice said. A chill went up the three monsters backs. They slowly turned and screamed, jumping into each other and huddled in fright.

A tall figure in a black hood was pointing a bony finger at the terrified monsters. It was a ghost of Christmas yet to come. With his pale hand, he pulled down his hood.

"FLABBER?!" the monsters shouted.

"Gotcha!" the phasm laughed. It wasn't the ghost of Christmas future after all.

"That's not funny, Blue boy!" Mums yelled in anger. "We've got enough problems with this goody-goody holiday! All this caring and sharing is driving me nutso!"

"Yeah! Christmas stupid!" Frankenbeans said.

"Well, it's not stupid to Ashley." Flabber said. "Didn't you hear a single word she said? Christmas is a time to be with the people you love! And you guys love Ashley, don't you?"

"Well..." Mums started.

Flabber crossed his arms. "I thought you guys were her friends!"

"We are!" Mums said.

"Then go find Ashley and have a merry Christmas together! I still have more decorating to do!"

The monsters sighed, defeated again. In spite of this disgustingly sweet holiday, the monsters would NEVER want to hurt Ashley's feelings. They went up to the attic and put on some disguises. Mums wore a grey jumpsuit with a hood and scarf to hide his face. Frankie wore a long blue scarf over his scarred face and a black beanie to hide his head bolts and gloves to hide his wrist seams. All Wolfie had to do was make like a dog and morph into his wolf form.

Mums talked to his roommates "Okay boys, let's just find Ashley, hang out for a little bit, look for any free food samples, and blow out of there. Agreed?" They nodded in agreement and headed for the mall.


	2. Chapter 2: A Scrooge and a Grinch

The Charterville mall was caught up in the chaos of the holidays! The eople flooding in all directions from every store turned the place into a mad house rather than a mall. In spite of all this, Ashley was able to squeeze into a store or two to find a gift for her mother. After the shopping, she, Fangula, and Little Ghoul were at the food court enjoying some hot chocolate.

Fangula rubbed a throbbing temple. "I can't believe we're still standing..."

"Can you believe those screaming potty-squatters thought I was one of Santa's elves and actually jumped on me and showing me their Christmas lists?!" Little Ghoul said.

Ashley took a sip of hot chocolate. "Well, you can't blame them. Kids get nutty this time of year and they get excited." But still, Ashley a little sad seeing how greedy those kids were.

"Hey Ashley!"

Ashley turned and saw Dawn and Hillary. Hopefully, her best human friends knew a thing or two about the true meaning of Christmas. The girls suddenly fixed their hair and smiled sweetly at Fangula. "Hi Biff." they said in unison.

The vampire gave a little half-smile. "Hello ladies."

"Hey girls! Merry Christmas!" Ashley said smiling, driving their attention away from her boyfriend. "You excited?!"

Dawn grinned ear to ear. "You betcha! So, doing some holiday shopping?"

"You have no idea!" Fangula blurted out. "We've been waiting 45 minutes a store for Ashley to get Christmas gifts and have them wrapped!"

"Well, I wanted to make sure I got the right gift for everybody." Ashley replied.

"And you mean _everybody_." Fangula said.

Ashley shrugged. "What can I say? I love Christmas."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Well duh, we all love Christmas. Especially all the presents we'll be getting!"

"And all the babysitting money I make when all those moms and dads go Christmas shopping!" Hillary said with a wink in her eye.

"Don't forget all those bargains in the after-Christmas sales!" Dawn reminded Hillary.

Ashley was shocked. Was this really coming from her friends? "But what about spending quality time with friends and family?" Ashley asked.

"Or the spirit of giving?" Fangula added. Ashley and Little Ghoul turned at the vampire in surprise. Maybe he was getting the hang of Christmas after all.

"Of course, but it's fun to get too." Dawn said. "Admit it Biff, there must be something you and Ashley want for Christmas. Come on, fess up."

Ashley and Fangula looked at each other. "Well..." they said together.

"I knew it!" Dawn chirped.

"What I've always wanted for Christmas..." Ashley said. "is snow."

Everyone stared at the redhead. "Snow?!"

"Yeah, I know it doesn't snow in California, but snow is the best Christmas gift that I can think of! I've never even seen it in real life before! Only in the movies." Ashley looked down thoughtfully. "And every Christmas miracle ends with beautiful white snow..."

Everyone kept staring until Dawn let out a sigh. "The poor girl's got Christmas specials on the brain."

Hillary pushed up her glasses. "I understand a white Christmas would be a wondrous vision Ashley, but that's a tall order for a Christmas gift. How about some new clothes or something?"

"There is such a thing as too much holiday cheer, Ash." Little Ghoul grumbled.

"At least I have the right kind of holiday cheer!" Ashley pouted, eying her human friends. "Unlike some people..."

Dawn pointed at something. "You mean like that?" Everyone looked over their shoulders and saw Britney Chambers coming their way, wearing a satin silver top and skirt trimmed with white faux fur with matching go go boots and giant snowflake earrings dangling from her lobes.

She came up to Fangula and smiled. "Hi Biff." She turned to Ashley and her smile dipped. "Deacon."

Ashley's Christmas spirit just went down the toilet. "Can we help you?" she droned.

"When there's a blizzard in California, I'll need your help, commoner." Britney scoffed. "Anyway Biff, this is for you." she handed 'Biff' a piece of paper.

Fangula read at the paper and looked back at Britney exasperated. "Is this a joke?!"

"Let me see that." Ashley took the paper and read it out loud. "One pair of Captain Chic Sapphire studded platform pirate sneakers. High top. Blue or gold wrapping paper. Matching ribbon. One bow. Merry Christmas." Ashley shot an angered look at Britney. "Are you kidding me right now?!" she shouted.

Britney smiled. "Of course not, my assistant made a list of what presents my people will be surprising me with this year and she assigned this one to Biff."

"How's this for a surprise?!" Ashley said, she ripped up the paper and threw it all over Britney. It fell over her like confetti on the 4th of July.

Fangula shot up. "You've got some nerve, Britney!" he snapped. "Since when am I your 'people?!'"

Britney brushed the ripped paper off of her. "Fine! Be that way! I tried to bring you from the dark side and into my inner-circle Biff, but it looks like Deacon's sucked you in too far!" she snapped. "Well so much for Christmas spirit!" She stormed away with her nose in the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen: Britney Chambers." said Dawn.

"I can't believe she's telling people what to get her!" Ashley exclaimed. "She makes Scrooge look like a saint!"

"Maybe I'll give her a yuletide nibble under the tree..." Fangula's said under his breath, his eyes glowing red.

Ashley quickly covered Fangula's eyes before Dawn and Hillary noticed. "Listen Fang, as much as I'd love to see Britney as bat bait, you're not putting a single tooth on her!" she whispered to the count.

"Are you two having a moment or something?" Dawn asked.

The couple were flustered as they pulled away from each other. "Anyway, we better get going." Ashley said as she grabbed her gifts Fangula and Little Ghoul followed behind carrying more gifts.

In another part of the mall, Mums, Wolfie, and Frankenbeans were wandering around the mall looking for their friends. "Grrr! We've been wandering around this mad house for hours and we still can't find them!" Mums growled.

"Mums?! What are you guys doing here?!"

The trio turned and saw Ashley, Fangula and Little Ghoul right behind them.

"Finally! We found you!" Mums shouted in relief. "One more second in this nightmare and I would have lost it."

"Come on Mums, it's not that bad here." Fangula said.

"Yeah," said Ashley. "and as for Christmas, if you guys just gave it a chance you'd see-"

"That it's just a stupid holiday!" Mums hollered so loud, some people stopped their shopping and stared. "Just look around you, Ash! All these suckers buying this and buying that! Singing these stupid songs! And being all friendly and nice to each other?! In case you haven't realized, I hate Christmas and I always will! I'm outta here!"

And the mummy stormed out of the mall, leaving his friends dumbfounded, hurt, and confused. The remaining monsters looked at Ashley. Her head hung so low it looked like it was gonna hit the floor. They can all feel their friend's broken heart.

"Ashley! Don't listen to him!" Fangula said, lifting up his girlfriend's head. "We love Christmas! Right guys?"

Frankenbeans went up to Ashley and gave her a big hug. "Love Christmas. Love Ashley." he said sweetly and honestly.

The monsters all gave Ashley a group hug. Ashley felt a little better as she embraced their hug. "Thank you." she sighed, a tear twinkling in her eye. Wolfie and Frankie now understood what Flabber meant.

"Hey Ashley, why don't we come with you singing carols for the neighbors?" Fangula suggested.

Ashley was blown away. "Really?! You mean it?!"

"Yeah!" the monsters cheered, they actually looked excited.

"Alright then." Ashley said. But in the back of her mind, she still felt sorry for Mums. Since he's a monster, he thinks it's necessary to act like one. But monster or not, he was Ashley's friend first.

As Mums left the mall, he bumped into an elderly woman. But Mums paid her no mind as he kept walking. The woman stared at the disguised mummy as if she can sense his anger.


	3. Chapter 3: Ho Ho Horrors

December 24th, Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas. Everyone was getting excited for the party. Ashley was in the kitchen happily making Christmas cookies while singing along to 'We need a little Christmas' by Glee playing on her iPhone.

The monsters were now eager for Christmas as Ashley was. They had a blast caroling last night. The other monsters were up in their rooms doing some last-minute Christmas wrapping while Flabber and the Pipettes were singing and playing along to Ashley's song.

When the song ended, it then played Glee's version of 'Rockin' around the Christmas tree' and everyone went back to dancing! And they weren't the only ones. Fangula swooped in by surprise and offered his hand to Ashley, inviting her to dance.

The witch smiled and took it, she snapped her fingers and used her magic to have the cookies make themselves. The Christmas shaped cookie cutters floated through the air, cutting the dough and setting them on cookie tins that hovered into the oven as the couple danced and bounced and sang along away to the song with happy holiday delight.

"THAT'S IT!" a voice shouted upstairs, ruining the moment.

Everybody stopped cooking, dancing, and singing. Ashley paused the music and looked upstairs, she saw Mums in his disguise and he looked angrier than usual. He went downstairs and towards the door.

A stop sign appeared in front of him with Flabber dressed as a policeman. "Not so fast, Sonny!" he said in a Scottish accent. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out!" the mummy responded, shoving Flabber out of the way. "I'm going to get some peace and quiet and I'm not coming back until this whole Christmas thing blows over!"

"Mums wait!" Ashley called out. "Don't leave!"

"Forget it, Ginger! I've got Christmas this and Christmas that coming out of my ears!"

"Me too!" Flabber blurted. A green sign that said 'CHRISTMAS THIS' in red neon lights popped out of Flabber's ear while a red sign saying 'CHRISTMAS THAT' with green neon lights came out his other ear.

But it was too late. Mums was already out the door.

Frankenbeans came downstairs covered in bows and ribbons. "What happened?"

Ashley slumped. "Mums," she said sadly. "he left..."

The vampire patted Ashley's shoulder. "Don't feel bad Ashley, he'll be back."

But Ashley didn't feel any better. "I guess..."

* * *

As Mums walked into town, he kept to himself avoiding people as much as possible. Noticing the curious looks he was getting, he pulled his hood closer around his head. He walked down an alley and slumped against the brick wall and sat down.

As he sat alone on the cold hard ground, Mums thought he would enjoy the peace and quiet, so far it was okay, but he still felt upset. But why? He couldn't help but feel something wasn't right...maybe because today was a lot colder than yesterday, or it was just his imagination.

"HELP!" a voice cried out.

Mums snapped out of his thoughts and looked down the alley. He saw two men looming over a short, stocky woman in a red coat.

One of the men pulled out a knife. "Hand over the bag, Granny!"

The other man reached for the woman's bag, but then Mums grabbed the man's arm like a steel trap. The mugger turned, right into the mummy's exposed, angry face.

The man screamed in horror as Mums let him go, the mugger ran away like a maniac was chasing him. His partner glared at Mums. "Celebrating Halloween a bit late, freak?" But Mums went in front of the woman and stood his ground protecting her.

The lone mugger sneered. "Fine."

Without warning, he jabbed the knife right into Mums' stomach. The mugger was dumbfounded as to why his victim took a knife to the gut and didn't even flinch...or bleed.

"Is this a joke?" the mugger said taking a few steps back.

The mummy smiled as he removed the knife from his stomach as tossed it aside. "Now, if you're quite through..." he ran right up to the mugger's face and roared with a horrifying face.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" the mugger screamed and ran away twice as fast as his partner.

Mums stood proud like he won the Olympics. Nothing like a good scare to make him feel good.

"Thank you, young man." the elderly woman said. "That was very brave."

Mums quickly hid his face in his scarf and turned to the woman. She had short curly white hair, rosy red cheeks to match her red coat and round wire rim glasses in front of her blue eyes that twinkled like Christmas lights.

"It was nothing really." Mums said. "Are you alright?"

"A little shaken, but I'll be fine." the woman said. "Now what are doing out here in an alley by yourself, Dearie?"

"Uh, well, I was looking for some, peace and quiet..." Mums replied uncertain.

The woman raised a brow. "Sounds like you're not sure."

Mums shook his head. "No, I'm sure. Anyway, what about you, Miss?...

"Joyce." the woman said. "I was just out running some errands but now, I'm not so sure."

"Why's that?"

"Because I heard that a horrible blizzard is coming here!" Joyce said. "They say it's the worst blizzard in 50 years!"

Mums didn't believe a word Joyce just said. "What? You're crazy, lady! We're in California! It doesn't snow in-"

Mums stopped in mid-sentence when he saw a snowflake fall and land on Joyce's coat. Soon, more snowflakes fell. And fell, and fell, and fell, until a mighty flurry of snowflakes started blowing!

"You were saying?" Joyce hollered over the rushing winds.

"Okay, you're not crazy!" Mums shouted. "Score one for Joyce!"

"Thank you!" Joyce kindly shouted. "We better find a place for cover!"

* * *

Back at Hillhurst, Ashley, Flabber and the rest of the monsters looked out the window in total disbelief. Snow. It was actually snowing. How could this be possible?

"Guys," Ashley said. "are we being punked?"

"Only one way to find out." Fangula said. He went up to the door and opened it. Soon as he did, a powerful gust of cold wind and snowflakes blasted through the house. Everyone rushed to help the struggling vampire shut the door. When they finally did, Fangula brushed off the excess snowflakes of him. "Yep, that's real snow."

"Oh man, I guess there is a Santa Claus after all." said Ashley. "I wanted snow for Christmas, and now I got it!"

"At least we're in her all warm and toasty!" Flabber said, carrying a tray of hot cocoa.

"Wait a minute!" Ashley cried. "Not everyone! Mums is still out there!"

Before the panic began to break out, Ashley's phone rang. Ashley answered it. "Hello?"

"Ashley! It's Mom!" Irene said, or rather shouted, through the phone.

"Mom?! What going on?!"

"First of all, this weather! There's a blizzard tearing all through Charterville! You can't just make it winter in California!" Irene said in an angry voice.

"What?! No Mom! Conjuring a blizzard over an entire town is too powerful for me! There no way that I could have done this!" Ashley implied.

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm on my way to Hilhurst now!" said Irene. "And me with no snow tires!"

"Okay Mom. The guys and I will take care of everything!" Ashley said and hung up. She turned to the monsters and firmly put her hands on her hips. "Alright boys, we've got a lot of work to do! Flabber! You fix the Christmas dinner! Frankie and Wolfie! Set up more Christmas decorations. Fangula! You and Little Ghoul work on the refreshments!"

"But what about you, Ashley?" asked Fangula.

Ashley snapped her fingers and now wore her coat along with black mittens and earmuffs. "I'm going to look for Mums! Now let's get moving everyone!"

"You heard the lady!" Flabber said. "Let's get moving people! Our guest will be arriving any minute!"

And soon enough, Hillhurst was filled with the hustle and bustle of monsters preparing for their Christmas party. Ashley went to the broom closet and found Broomy sleeping. She tapped on the broomstick's handle. "Wake up! We've got a friend to find!"

Broomy woke up and zoomed between Ashley's legs. Ashley pointed to the door and willed it to open. With a good grip on her broom, Ashley took off out of the house and into the cold night sky.


	4. Chapter 4: Ashley Clause

The snowstorm has slowed down a bit. But there was piles of snow all over Charterville! Inside the Hillhurst house, it was nice and warm with a roaring fire. The food and decorations were ready. All that was missing was Irene...and Ashley, who still hasn't returned with Mums yet.

"Quiet down everyone!" Flabber shouted. "There's a bulletin on TV!"

Everyone gathered in the parlor to see a woman's face on the TV screen. She was holding a microphone and standing in front of Charterville Town Hall. Behind her, children were running and playing in the snow. "As you can see, we've already gained about 5 inches of snow in the past few hours!" the newscaster announced. "We are still in shock and confusion as to how this is even possible! Weather scientists are still baffled at the cause of all this! Barometers are dropping sharply as the storm continues! Could this be a freak event? Or a kid's Christmas wish come true?!"

Little Ghoul changed the channel to one showing The Christmas Story movie marathon. "This is all too weird, guys." she said. "How can it possibly snow?!"

"I just hope Ashley is okay..." Fangula said worried.

"And Mums!" Flabber added.

A knock was rapping at the door. Within a split second, Flabber rushed up and answered the door. "Irene! So glad you can make it! Come in! Come in!"

"Thank you Flabber." Irene kindly said as she came in. "Oh my goodness..." Irene breathed. "The house looks great!" She never knew monsters had such a flair for Christmas decorating.

Fangula shrugged. "I guess you can say we learned it from Ashley!"

Irene let out a laugh. "I see, no one has the Christmas spirit like Ashley." Irene looked around. "Uh, where _is_ Ashley?"

The monsters looked a little sad. "Well, she went out looking for Mums." Flabber answered. "We're just waiting for her to come back."

Irene was exasperated. "What?! My little baby is out there in the cold?!"

"But don't worry Irene!" Flabber assured. "Ashley will be fine! She is a witch after all! She's out on her broomstick soaring the skies looking for Mums! She'll be back in no time, you'll see!"

Irene crossed her arms and gave her famous stern look. The monsters all gulped waiting for the worst. But Irene sighed. "Alright, I'll just take a seat in the parlor..." she said, obviously worried.

The monsters were surprised Irene didn't blow her stack. They all watched the woman sit on the couch and wait for her daughter.

* * *

In a small part of the neighborhood, Mums was carrying an armful of pots and pans with hot food inside them while Joyce carried a few things of her own. They went up to a dismal-looking house with very few decorations.

"What are we doing here?" Mums complained, tired of carrying all this stuff in the snow.

"I know there's a family here who needs a little holiday cheer." Joyce answered.

Mums sighed hearing the 'C' word again. "Then shouldn't Santa be doing this?"

Joyce smiled a little. "Well, Santa's a busy man this time of year, so we're giving him some extra help." Joyce knocked on the door. A woman wearing a rather old brown dress and an dirty apron. She had kind eyes. "Hello Joyce, I'm glad you can make it. Please come in."

Joyce and Mums went inside. Mums couldn't believe his eye. The house was as old and rundown as the woman's clothes. It was close to being a hovel. There was hardly any furniture except a couch, a few chairs, an old TV, and a window covered with plywood where there used to be glass. In the old white walls there was cracks and on the ceiling were stains from water damage. A 5 foot tall Charlie Brown tree stood in the corner with only a few bulbs and some strings of tinsel hanging from the near bear branches.

All of a sudden Mums heard what sounded like cooing and babbling below him. He looked down and saw a little girl who appeared to be about 2 years old. She wore red overalls and little matching shoes with long brown hair and dark eyes just like her mother. The toddler was happily tugging on one of the mummy's loose bandages.

"Brianna! Don't do that!" the mother ran up and picked up her daughter. "I'm sorry about that, Sir."

Three more small children ran into the room. All of them boys. They were all running in circles around the mummy all excited.

"Now children, calm down!" Joyce chuckled. "Save that energy for when we set the table!"

"Yay!" the boys ran off to help Joyce with the table.

A man who looked like the father came in with the plates and silverware. "Thank you so much Joyce." the man said sincerely to the woman. He turned to Mums. "And you are?"

"Oh! I'm uh, Murray." Mums said holding his hand out. The father shook the hand and welcomed him inside. "Make yourself at home."

"That's right, were no strangers to new friends." the kind mother said. "Especially on Christmas."

Mums smiled under his scarf. For humans, they weren't so bad! He felt Brianna pulling his hand, inviting him to come to the table. Mums happily took the girl's hand and they went to the table together.

* * *

Up in the wintery skies just above Charterville, Ashley was soaring around town looking for Mums, but so far he was nowhere to be found. The falling snow made it even harder to look. It was a challenge.

"At this rate, I'm never gonna find Mums! He could be anywhere!" Ashley said as she continued her search. She zigged and zagged all over. The more she did, the more she felt worried for Mums. She imagined him frozen stiff in the snow! Especially since he's already a stiff!

But Ashley was so caught up in her fantasies of worry, she failed to notice her speed was racing up high, and another flying object right in front of her.

**CRASH!**

The impact hit Ashley with the force of an oncoming train. Ashley screamed as she fell out of control like a deflating balloon. She landed in a soft but freezing snow bank that cushioned her fall. Ashley struggled out of the bank, brushing snow all over herself.

Ashley rubbed her head and moaned. "Ugh, what hit me?"

Ashley heard moaning, and this time it wasn't her. She looked and saw a rather large man lying on the snow. It sounded like he was in pain.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?!" Ashley cried. She ran over to the stranger and turned him over to get a good look at him.

"WHAT?!" Ashley exclaimed, stepping away from the man. "It can't be!"

"I'm afraid so, Ashley." the man said in a deep voice standing up, he was dressed in a red suit trimmed with white fur, girdled with a wide black belt, a matching long, floppy hat, and dark boots. And a long white beard. It was none other than Santa Clause himself!

Ashley shook her head. "No way! You don't expect me to believe you're the real Santa Clause!"

"Ho, ho, ho!" the big man in red laughed. "Now Ashley, you've seen phasms, vampires, ghosts, magic, and monsters! Why's it so hard to believe in the real Santa Clause?"

Ashley's blinked twice. If he knew all that, then he must be the real Santa. "Yeah...that's a good point." she replied. "But what are you doing here?"

"Why, making my rounds of course!" Santa said. "I only had one more present to send to Charterville until you crashed into me! What were you doing flying in this weather? Unless you're me, there's no way you can navigate in this storm!"

"I just realized that." Ashley said sheepishly. "I'm really sorry Mr. Clause, I was looking for my friend Mums."

Santa smiled under his bushy beard. "That's alright, Ashley. No harm done." he said fixing his hat. "You should have seen the sleigh crash of '63! Toys everywhere! I tell ya, that barn came out of nowhere! It packed a bigger punch than you did!"

Ashley and Santa both laughed.

"Well, I better get a move on." said Santa. "I've got another 900 billion children on my list!"

"Wait Santa!" Ashley said. "You've got to help me find Mums!"

"Ho, ho, ho! Don't worry Ashley, Mums is fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! After all, I see him when he's sleeping and know when he's awake! And right now, he's wide awake at this address." Santa handed her a piece of paper with said address on it. Santa's sleigh pulled up behind him. Ashley was in awe as she saw the big, strong looking reindeer pulling the sleigh and the beautiful, sparkling red paint job on the sleigh.

"Thank you Santa." Ashley said. "It was an honor meeting you!"

The man laughed his famous laugh. "That's very sweet of you, Ashley." Santa went to his sleigh and reached into his gift bag. "Say, think you can do me a small favor?"

"Anything, sir." Ashley said.

"Perhaps you can deliver this present for me. I'm a little behind schedule and I need to hurry to Zimbabwe!" He handed the witch a small red present wrapped in a green bow.

Ashley gave a salute. "You can count on me Santa! I'll be the best delivery girl you've ever had!"

"Ho, ho, ho! I really appreciate this Ashley!" Santa hopped into his sleigh, called up his reindeer and flew away into the night.

Ashley whistled for Broomy, with the magic broom in her hands, she zoomed over to pick up Mums.

* * *

Back at the house, Joyce was enjoying Christmas dinner with the poor but happy family.

"Joyce, this turkey is delicious!" the father said.

Joyce's blue eyes twinkled. "Thank you, I'm so glad you like it."

"But what about your friend over there?" the mother asked. "He looks a little down."

Joyce looked over to 'Murray,' who was sitting on the couch looking indeed down. All he had was a piece of turkey and just sat down in a slump.

Joyce excused herself from the table and went over to the couch. "What's the problem, Dearie?"

Mums let out a sigh and said, "Well, it's just, to tell you the truth, I never really liked Christmas. I thought it would be...out of my, character to celebrate this kind of thing." He looked over to the happy family. "But after seeing how enjoyable this is, I think I'm understanding what Ashley was trying to tell me..."

"Ashley?" Joyce inquired.

Mums looked down. "She's a friend of mine. She loves Christmas for what it truly is, spending time with family and friends and I said some things I shouldn't have and crushed her spirit...she's probably enjoying the Christmas party at home while I-"

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Joyce said. She opened the door.

"ASHLEY!" Mums screamed with joy. He ran and glomped her with a big hug, knocking her earmuffs off. "I can't believe it's you!"

Ashley giggled. "Of course it's me, I've looked everywhere for you!"

Mums let her go and looked at her surprised. "You mean you've been looking for me instead of enjoying the Christmas party?!" He lowered his head. "I...I'm sorry I ruined you Christmas Eve..." he said.

But Ashley picked up her earmuffs and gave him a slap on the back. "Hey buddy, knowing you're safe makes it a great Christmas!"

Joyce smiled seeing the two friends back together. "So you're Ashley, eh?"

"I am. Who're you?" Ashley asked.

"Oh! This is Joyce. I've been helping her bring some holiday cheer for the Meyer family." Mums said proudly.

Ashley shook her head in disbelief. "Come again?"

Joyce smiled. "Yes, that's right. Murray here has been such a big help. Setting up the dinner and playing with the children - he's a natural!"

_'Murray?' _Ashley thought. That sounds like an alias only Mums could make up.

"He is indeed." Mrs. Meyer said with her family. "Thank you so much."

Mr. Meyer nodded. "With things being so tough this year without you and Joyce, we would've..."

"Oh, don't mention it!" Mums said. "You'd do the same for me."

"Well, we better get going." Mums said. "We've got a Christmas party to get to!" He looked over at Ashley. "And if you want to sing any of those Christmas songs again...I won't complain." he told her.

_'Wow, Mums should cool off in a blizzard more often...'_ Ashley thought.

"I've just got to deliver a present and we'll head back to the party." said Ashley. "Thank you for taking care of Mum- I mean, Murray, Joyce."

"It was my pleasure!" Joyce said.

"Thank you all! Merry Christmas!" the family said as the two left.


	5. Chapter 5: A Witchmas Carol

"Are you sure about this Ashley?" Mums asked as they walked up to the porch of a large, lavish mansion built to resemble a regal French Chateau outlined with white Christmas lights.

"That's what it said on the box." Ashley said. "This present is addressed to Britney Chambers." Of all the people in Charterville, why did Santa want Ashley to deliver a gift for Britney?

"Well, at least find out what's inside first." said Mums. "With any luck, it could be a lump of coal."

"Hmm, I guess I could take a peek." Ashley said. She formed a circle out of her index finger and thumb and put it over her eye like an imaginary monocle. The space in her fingers turned into green, making it looked like a green lens was over Ashley's eye. It was an x-ray spell. Ashley looked inside the present, when she did,

"It's empty!" Ashley gasped.

"Empty?!" Mums exclaimed. But why?! How?!"

"Maybe Santa forgot to put in the present." Ashley guessed. "He did say that he was busy."

Mums tossed his hands in the air "Oh, come on! The whole point of a present is putting it in the box!" But then he got an idea. "Wait a minute! I know what we can do!"

Ashley raised a brow. "What?"

Mums put an arm around Ashley's shoulder, a devilish grin suddenly spread across his dried face, his eye shining with a devious glint. "This could be our chance!"

"What chance?"

Mums shook his head. "Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, how could you not see it when it's right in front of you? With a little poof and zap, we can give Britney a real nightmare before Christmas!"

Now that he mentioned it, Ashley knew this was her moment. What better way to really zap Britney once and for all? A point of her finger, that's all it takes. Once Britney opens it, a swarm of bats will burst out of the box and scare her half to death, or a mother spider will jump out and and lay it's eggs in Britney's hair, or a blast of wart and hair loss cream will really be one for the history books. Ever since Ashley was just a child, Britney was always making the witch's life miserable.

Now, it's payback time.

Ashley thought long and hard about this one. Once she thought good enough, she pointed at the box and zapped it with the old green magic. She knocked on the door, and waited for Britney to come out.

The door swung open and there was Britney Chambers with a sneer. "Oh look, Ashley Deacon and a hobo on my property." She rolled her eyes. "My holiday joy is now complete." she said in sarcasm. "What do you want?"

Ashley plastered on a smile. "Nothing Britney, I just wanted to give you this Christmas gift."

Britney looked at Ashley like she was diseased. "Gift? I didn't assign you a gift. And I sure didn't get you anything."

Ashley shrugged. "I know, I just wanted to give you one because I wanted to." she held out the present. "Merry Christmas."

Britney paused, looking at the present and Ashley with a touching look. But she snatched the present right out of her hand.

"Sucker!" she laughed before she slammed the door in Ashley's face.

Britney laughed all her way to her room with the present in her hand. "Can you believe that? Deacon got me a gift? Just because?" she mused. Looking back on Ashley's words, Britney felt something. _Felt _something. She knows that she treated Ashley like sludge, but she never knew Ashley would actually give a gift just because.

"Deacon, what a loser..." Britney said, but it really sounded like she didn't mean it. She opened the gift and her eyes went wide. For the first time in her life, Britney was speechless.

"You gave her a locket?!" Mums screamed as they waked away from Britney's estate.

"Yeah, it seemed like the right thing to do." Ashley said.

Mums growled. "What good is being a witch if you can't act like one?! I would have just put my eyeball in it! That would have been a riot!"

"Well, you're not the one Santa entrusted to deliver, are you?" Ashley said with a smirk.

* * *

Ashley and Mums finally returned to Hillhurst. Everyone was happy with sweet relief as they embraced their beloved friends.

Now that everyone was all here, they enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner together. A hot plate of beef stew, turkey and mashed potatoes was exactly what Ashley needed to warm up.

"Honestly, Ashley," said Irene as she next to her. "you had us all worried about you! Why would you and Mums go out there on Christmas Eve in the middle of a snowstorm?"

"Yeah!" Flabber agreed. "We almost thought you were as good as frozen!"

Ashley simply chuckled and said, "I was on a mission."

"What mission?" Irene asked.

"To find me!" Mums stated.

"And drop of a Christmas gift for someone." Ashley mentioned.

After the dinner, everyone went into the parlor to let their food settle by watching A Christmas Story. The movie had just ended. Ashley looked up at an old grandfather clock in the corner.

Ashley spoke up. "Hey, Mom."

Irene turned to her daughter. "Yes?"

"Well, I know Christmas isn't about the presents and all, but since it's now midnight, and it's officially Christmas day, I was wondering if..." she paused.

Everyone looked at Ashley in surprise, catching on to her words, the monsters all turned to Irene looking pretty darn eager.

Irene heaved a sigh and said, "You want to open presents now?"

"YES!" everyone shouted in excitement.

Irene chuckled. "Well, I don't see why not."

With that, everyone ran under the tree and opened their gifts.

"I got a CD of Elvis songs! Flabtastic!"

"Ooh! Ooh! New head bolts! Yay!"

"New bandages! How'd you know mine were all dirty?"

"A Jack Skellington doll!" Little Ghoul squealed. "I'll cherish it always!" she gave a doll a big smooch.

Wolfie got a big fat beef steak with a side of ground beef - all raw of course.

"Oh my! The new compound interest interest calculator! I've been needing this for work! Thank you Ashley!"

As for Ashley, she sat on the sofa happily watching her mother and friends. She already opened her gift. Her mother got her a green silk blouse. It was beautiful. But she still felt something was missing. But then she felt a tap on her looked up and saw Fangula smiling.

"I have a gift for you!" he said.

Ashley blinked in surprise. "Really?!"

"Of course!" the vampire said. "Follow me!"

With everyone busy with their gifts, Ashley followed Fangula into the foyer. He pulled out a black box with a red ribbon from his cape.

Ashley's heart fluttered as she gazed at her gift. She took it from her boyfriend's hands. She held out her hand, and a red box tied in a black ribbon materialized in her palm.

"You didn't think I forgot, did you?" Ashley said.

Fangula gasped, he almost felt tears coming from his eyes. "Oh, Ashley..." That's all he could say, he was too touched to say anything else.

They both opened their presents and their faces simultaneously lit up.

"I don't believe it!" Fangula exclaimed as he took the gift out. It was a Victorian vest made in rich red and black tapestry with black satin lining.

"Oh my gosh..." Ashley breathed. She pulled out a small crystal ball. It sparkled like pure diamond. Just feeling the object in her palm made Ashley sense a sort of magic within it.

"This is beautiful!" Ashley said, admiring her present.

"I knew you'd love it." Fangula said. "A little something to practice your fortune telling."

Ashley was so happy she got this. She felt like a full-fledged witch already. "I can hardly wait to try it." she said. She threw her arms around Fangula in a tight hug, snuggling into his chest.

The vampire smiled as he returned the hug. "Hey Ashley, I have to know, who did you deliver a present to?" he asked.

Ashley hesitated a little, but said, "Britney."

"WHAT?!" Fangula said, almost too loud. "Britney?! Why?!" he whispered this time.

Ashley shrugged. "Well, Christmas isn't a time to bear grudges. And who knows? Maybe underneath all of Britney's nastiness, there's a nice person waiting to be discovered."

Fangula raised a brow. "And just what do you think the chances are of that being true?"

Ashley rubbed her chin. "Truth be told, I have no idea."

Then, Fangula looked up and said, "Ashley! Look!"

Ashley looked up and saw a single branch of mistletoe in a spider web above them. Next to the web was a tarantula spider.

Ashley looked at Fangula and raised her brow. "Did you put him up to this?"

Fangula smiled and shrugged. "Of course not, he just wanted to help decorate." he said, almost comically.

Ashley giggled as she and Fangula looked at each other, staring eye to eye. Then, slowly, they leaned into each other, closing the gap between them until they captured each others lips in a kiss.

The only one who saw that, was a little old woman peeking from the house's window, who chuckled warmly at the sight.

The woman heard a big, jolly 'Ho, ho, ho,' behind her, she turned around and saw Santa Clause pull his sleigh up in front of the house. The woman walked off the porch to the sleigh as the jolly man hopped out of his seat.

"Joyce!" Santa cried. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" He wrapped his big arms around the woman and kissed her warm, rosy cheek. He helped the woman into the sleigh. "The elves and I were worried sick! Where the Charles Dickens have you been?!"

"Now honey, I was just running some errands, that's all." Joyce said. "Ashley certainly is unique, isn't she?"

Santa smiled. "Indeed, she passed my test with flying colors! There's enough warmth in her heart even for the likes of that Britney Chambers. Now that's what I call Christmas spirit."

"Indeed, she'll grow up to be an excellent witch." Then Joyce arched her white eyebrow at Mr. Clause. "Speaking of Christmas spirit, don't you think you went a little overboard with the snow?"

"Well, Ashley did say she wanted snow for Christmas, didn't she? Can I deliver or what?"

Joyce just shook her head with a chuckle.

And with a whip and a crack, Santa's reindeer flew off into the night back to the North Pole. The sound of jingle bells and two distinct 'Ho, ho, ho's' echoed in the sky.

**Merry Christmas everyone!**

**And a Happy New Year!**


End file.
